ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN April 18, 1996 (D.Shuttlenws) - The Asian badminton championships began yesterday in Surabaya, Indonesia with probably the weakest draw in its history. Most of the top Asian players are not participating in this year's edition of the championships as they are in training for the more prestigious and important Thomas and Uber Cups competition scheduled to be held in late May in Hong Kong. The Thomas and Uber Cups competition is the world team championships in badminton. In scanty reports received from Surabaya, all the seeded players are said to have advanced to the next round. COPYRIGHT 1996 by D.Shuttlenws@genie.com. PERMISSION GIVEN to redistribute electronically in whole or in part.